Honey and Lemons
by jazztrousers
Summary: Renji is sick. Surely his captain can't be worried about him? Fluff


Renji felt, to put it simply, like shit.

His throat was raw from coughing, his chest ached, the sleeves of his kimono were slimy from wiping his nose on them, and he was completely deaf in one ear. He felt about ready to keel over and die. On top of all of that, it was about thirty degrees too hot in the office he and his captain shared, but for some reason he was shaking _and_ sweating.

He could tell his sickness was getting to said captain, too. Every time he had let out a volley of coughs, or loudly blown his nose, they'd been met with a muted sigh of irritation or a raised eyebrow, which said a lot, considering Kuchiki-taichou's calm, collected nature. He _had_ to be bubbling over with annoyance on the inside to be letting these little sighs slip, surely?

Renji sighed at the thought of Kuchiki-taichou being irritated by his very presence. He couldn't _help_ being ill, and he'd thought with everything that had _happened_ between the two of them since the war had ended...  
>He shook his head and sighed again. <em>Don't be stupid<em>. What had happened between them was purely sexual, and nothing else. It was just the natural progression of their relationship- Renji had let Kuchiki-taichou bend him over and fuck him in the ass _emotionally_ for years now, so the literal act was just a logical conclusion. So was how much he enjoyed it, and how shameful that was in turn. But the feel of the other man's soft, porcelain skin-

Another coughing fit ripped its way out of Renji's chest and forcibly exited his mouth, covering the document he was signing in green-flecked saliva. _That's a little worrying._ From the other side of the room he heard a quill gently being placed onto a desk, and then,  
>"Abarai-fukutaichou. You are unfit to work. Go home."<p>

Renji looked up to see his captain pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, his eyes closed. _Fuck._  
>"But taichou, I-"<br>"You are dismissed. Leave."  
>The redhead felt it best to leave quickly- before he got Senbonzakura'd through the stomach, preferably.<p>

_

Renji staggered home, feeling wobbly and cold again, trying to pull his shihakshou tighter around himself to protect his granulating flesh from the wind- _was it even windy?_ He couldn't tell.  
><em>Fuckin' taichou. Tossin' me out on my ass like that. So typical of him- all nice when he wants to fuck me, but as soon as I cough a<em>tiny _bit of mucus onto my work... Tch. He isn't even_that_nice to me when he wants to fuck. Just grabs me and starts kissing and groping me, doesn't even ask if I wanna- fuck it, I sound like such a girl._

He cast his mind back to the first time, how it all began. Renji and his captain had just returned, tired and bruised, from Hueco Mundo. They'd stepped, wearily, propped up by some Squad 4 peons, through the senkaimon, and once back in the Soul Society, not really knowing what to do with themselves, refused to go home and rest, but instead found themselves back in Squad 6's barracks.

Renji and Kuchiki-taichou had slumped behind their respective desks and stared into space for a little while, before Renji piped up.  
>"...Taichou?"<br>"...Yes?"  
>"What do we do now?"<br>A long, awkward pause, then the scraping of a chair as the noble stood up, and walked over to Renji's desk. He stood before his subordinate, a cold, faraway, almost... _sad_ look in his gunmetal grey eyes.  
>"I... do not know, Renji."<br>And with that, a strong fist gripped the front of the redhead's robes in a bunch, pulling him to his feet, and a hard, dry kiss was forced onto his mouth. He'd stood, dumbstruck for a few seconds, before placing two large hands onto the captain's shoulders, and kissing him back.  
>Paperwork was slid off the desk- always Renji's desk, always Renji's paperwork- and robes were pulled down and out of the way, and desperately clinging to eachother, they'd made... not love. But something. Something habit-forming, at the very least.<p>

Since then, the desk had become a symbol understood by both of them that one required the other's assistance. Renji would clamber up onto it and arrange himself into a submissive pose, or Kuchiki-taichou would simply wander over and start removing things from the desk's surface, clearing a space for their unhealthy but comforting union. It was an unspoken, but mutually understood agreement.

Renji eventually made it home- stopping twice on the way to retch painfully- and collapsed, face first on his futon into a fitful sleep, still wearing his sandals.

_

Several hours later- Renji wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was definitely dark now- there was a knock at the door, rousing Renji from a sweaty, light doze.  
>"Go away..." he groaned, not in the mood for visitors. Who the fuck needed to see him now, at this hour, anyway?<br>From the other side of the door came a haughty sniff and in cold clipped tones,  
>"How rude."<br>Renji's jaw fell against his pillow. Was he hallucinating from his fever? It couldn't be..  
>"...T-taichou?"<br>An irritated huff. Unmistakable.  
>"Yes, now let me in."<br>"Door's open." Renji called weakly. _Oh great. He's come to yell at me. But he never yells. Why_is_he here? I can't work this shit out._

The Kuchiki noble slid the door open and stepped inside softly, and gazed down at his lieutenant, who was still lying face-down in bed. He walked over to the futon and gently placed a hand on Renji's shoulder, and rolled him over onto his back. Renji looked up at him deliriously.  
>"...Taichou?"<br>He felt a hand, a deliciously, mercifully cool hand, being placed to his forehead. He could smell the soft scent of the other's hair, sakura petals and rice milk. _He smells so nice, and his hands are so soft..._  
>"You are quite unwell."<br>"Y-yeah, but..."  
>"I will prepare some tea."<br>Renji lay in the dark, listening to his captain padding around his kitchen, gracefully opening cupboards in search of tea-leaves and quietly boiling water. _Why is he here? Why is he being so nice to me?... Is he going to_kill_me? I don't understand.__  
><em>  
>After dozing again for a few minutes, he felt his captain settle on the ground next to the futon.<br>"Sit up and drink this."  
>Obediently, Renji sat up, propped up by his pillow, and accepted the steaming cup. He took a sip. <em>Honey and lemon. But I don't<em>have_any honey, or any lemons. Did he bring them... for me?_  
>He could feel those slate eyes on him, even in the dim light.<br>"Taichou... Why're ya here?"  
>Suddenly those eyes were no longer on him, and were now gazing at the floor.<br>"I... was concerned."  
>"About me?"<br>"Yes."  
>A few minutes passed, and Renji slurped his tea, utterly lost for words. When he'd finished and placed the cup on the floor, Kuchiki-taichou spoke again.<br>"It is not of a satisfactory temperature in your quarters."  
>"...What?" He questioned ineloquently.<br>"It is too cold. Your health will continue to decline in such an environment."  
>"I'm okay, really, I just-" His captain cut him off.<br>"Stand up. I will assist you in standing if you require it."  
>"Wha...?"<br>"You will stand, Abarai-fukutaichou."  
>Renji nervously scrambled to his feet, but wobbled immediately, feeling dizzy and seeing colourful spots burn through his vision. The other man slid an arm around his waist, steadying him. It occurred to Renji that in the recent spate of their sexual encounters, this was probably the most intimate gesture his captain had ever bestowed upon him, along with that cold hand on his forehead earlier.<p>

_

Before he really understood what was happening, Renji had been led out of his house and, still propped up and pulled in close to his captain, was being dragged down his street and into a much nicer area of the Sereitei. People were staring at Renji, slumped over the Kuchiki noble, and he felt elated. _See? My captain cares about me!_ He smiled at the onlookers and even waved to a few.  
>"Stop that."<br>Renji's head lolled to one side to look at his captain.  
>"Where we goin', Taichou?"<br>"You are accompanying me back to the Kuchiki manor for the night."  
>"Oh, okay... Wait, what!"<br>"I cannot afford to have you out of action due to sickness. Your quarters are insufficiently heated."  
>"But... but I..."<br>"Be quiet, Renji."  
>That last instruction seemed softer and lower than the rest. Renji resigned himself and idly wondered what would happen now.<p>

More aware of his changing surroundings, the lieutenant of Squad 6 noticed that there was now grass underfoot instead of cobbles, and that he appeared to be in some sort of beautiful garden next to a sprawling, enormous house. He could smell lilies through his blocked nose and noticed a fountain nearby that burbled soothingly.  
>"Is this where you live, taichou?"<br>"Yes. We are at the side-entrance. It would be too troublesome to sign you in and have you approved by the guards."  
>"Oh... Sneaky, taichou. Very sneaky."<br>"I brought you this way to avoid causing a fuss. Lower your voice."

The two of them walked through a long, wooden corridor, adorned with many cabinets containing fine china and tea sets, which they cautiously avoided. Eventually they reached a screen door which Byakuya carefully slid open, whilst keeping Renji upright, and led him inside.  
>The room they entered was large but sparsely decorated. It had a large, western-style bed in a far corner, and a single, locked cabinet. Slowly, Byakuya walked Renji over to the bed and lowered him into it, then began undoing the knots of his sandals.<br>"Mmmmm..?" Was all Renji could muster as an enquiry.  
>The captain did not respond though, and continued easing the sandals, then socks, off Renji's feet.<br>The readhead lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. _Is this a dream? I don't know what's going on, but I'm enjoying it._ He felt a soft blanket being placed over him, and then the other man was gone and the room was dark. Renji drifted off again, wondering dreamily if he'd wake up back at home, face-down in bed again.

When he awoke, he was not back at his house, but was still in the large bed- his captain's bed - and was being dragged by two hands under his armpits into an upright position. His eyes flickered open to see the bed's owner kneeling on the bed next to him, shifting him to sit up. Renji noted through his sickly haze that there was some kind of tray on the floor, containing a bowl with lovely-smelling steam rising from it. _Ahh, more tea. This is awesome._  
>"How are you feeling, Renji?"<br>"W-weird... Tingly and dizzy."  
>"This should help. Consume all of it."<br>Taking the bowl in shaking hands, Renji lifted it to his mouth and gulped at the hot liquid. It tasted... strange.  
>"What kinda tea's this, taichou? S'got... bits in it."<br>"It is soup. Those are noodles."  
>"Ohh... One of your servants make this? S'good." He messily sucked a noodle along his chin and into his mouth.<br>"No... I made it."  
>Renji stopped chewing on the pak choi from his soup and gazed up at his captain.<br>"You... made this... for me?"  
>"In order for healing to commence you need to be adequately nourished."<br>He finished his soup in silence. Once he was done, Byakuya took the bowl and tray away, and turned off the light once more.

This time, upon waking, Renji could see that dawn was breaking through the raw silk curtains of Kuchiki-taichou's room. Thanks to the nourishing and warm soup, he was starting to feel a lot better. _Warm_... He definitely did feel very warm. And... heavy, almost, as if someone was lying pressed up against his back. He cracked open one eye and saw that a pale, elegant arm was slung over his side, fingers resting in the folds of his uniform.  
>"Umm..."<br>"I am merely ensuring that you maintain a decent body temperature. Go back to sleep."  
>"...'Kay."<br>Renji closed his one open eye and wondered when exactly Kuchiki-taichou had gotten into bed with him.  
>And when he'd found the time to remove his headband and untie his ponytail.<p> 


End file.
